Attempts by Lesley Longstone to pin problems in the payroll system – also known by teachers as Novopain, No-pay and Novovirus – on the collective agreement smacked of desperation, particularly since it was the teachers on the agreement who were having the least problems with their pay, he said.
The secretary is looking to blame the collective agreement rather than face the fact it was blatant cost-cutting that led to the mess the payroll system is in.”
VTO – Ch Ch will not be rebuilt, not the way it should be at least, the reasons why in my opinion are that its about the mining,/drilling, and Antarctica.
Agendas have a whole different set of plans for Chch, because if there was an apetite to rebuild it for the locals, and benefit of NZ, it would we well underway by now…
This is see through even by NZ abysmal record of being run on corruption!
GST refunds have been later than usual and without explanation. Government is well behind in its payments for the Chch Stalingrad makeover. Teachers are being underpaid for weeks.
What Really Happened in Gaza
by NORMAN FINKELSTEIN
November 29, 2009
The official storyline is that Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense on 14 November, 2012 because, in President Barack Obama’s words, it had “every right to defend itself.”
In this instance, Israel was allegedly defending itself against the 800 projectile attacks emanating from Gaza since January of this past year.
The facts, however, suggest otherwise.
From the start of the new year, one Israeli had been killed as a result of the Gazan attacks, while 78 Gazans had been killed by Israeli strikes. The ruling power in Gaza, Hamas, was mostly committed to preventing attacks. Indeed, Ahmed al-Jaabari, the Hamas leader whose assassination by Israel triggered the current round of fighting, was regarded by Israel as the chief enforcer of the periodic ceasefires, and….
Lifted from a comment to a piece on another site concerning Spanish President Mariano Rajoy Brey’s double-cross of the Spanish people (pursuading them to convert their savings deposits in Spanish Banks into ‘preference’ shares in a failed attempt to save the banks from bankruptcy they are now facing a 39% ‘haircut’ just to earn a bail-out loan to the banks from the EEC), this seemed to me a perfect summary of John Key and his acolytes:
“He hails from what Ljubiša Mitrović calls the “comprador bourgeoisie.”
Comprador bourgeoisie is the upper layer of the bourgeois class…. It is not national in character and is socially irresponsible. It is a blind servant of foreign capital, ruthless in the exploitation of the domestic workforce and dictatorial in relation to its fellow countrymen. Its homeland is where its interests are. It is the agent of the megacapital in the function of global economy. It is a “Trojan horse” of the foreign TNCs [Transnational Corporations]… Its god is the god Mammon, the capital. Its aim is to amass capital, and it puts profit above individuals. It is a predatory class of the nouveau riche and often bon vivant and parasitic upstarts. It is a peculiar jet-set of bandit economy…..
If they wish not to be discarded by the citizens and most of the nation, political parties and elites would have to stop deceiving the citizens and articulate their real interests in the struggle for social change.
Well I guess when sexism itself stops being a predominantly one way flow against women, others might love whatever it is you are loving too.
btw, the example you give is such glaring example of sexism, and the ground we have lost in recent years, that I’m really at a loss to know why you used it. How about you provide a similarly garing example of sexism running the other way?
all of the ads that show men as lard arses with fat bellies, unshaven, sloppy and slobbery, lazing on the couch while the women go out and do the right stuff.
There are countless of them. It is a well acknowledged phenomenon.
The fact that male complaints don’t run to the level of female complaints about the same issue speaks to perhaps the very nature of men vs women more than to the actual sexism on display.
But in this region on which i opine the current general society-wide opinion (which you reflect imo) I would suggest reflects a 50s charm in reverse. In the 50s, such a response as your own mr weka, was the norm and the issue considered well overblown and lacking in reality.
This is the nearest ad to the one of was thinking of – that I could find quickly. Based on sexist stereotypes with women’s bodies there to be looked at, while the guys are in control (no matter how slobby they are), and are smart-a*ses.
The one I was thinking of has a guy on a couch phoning a woman in another room to change the TV channel for him.
Yep. Sorry, dudes, but an eternity of being portrayed as mere objects for male consumption ain’t actually equivalent to a cultural meme which absolves all men from being competent, compassionate, or active participants in a relationship. Oh noes, it makes men look bad – where “looks bad” = “provides an excuse to be completely self-centred”.
“There are countless of them. It is a well acknowledged phenomenon.”
I don’t know those, please link to some examples. Make sure they are ones that show a similar level of sexism as the law student example.
“The fact that male complaints don’t run to the level of female complaints about the same issue speaks to perhaps the very nature of men vs women more than to the actual sexism on display.”
Nope, that demonstrates that institutionalised and culturally sanctioned sexism against women is far more prevalent, difficult to combat, and damaging.
yes, men get stereotyped in various ways to their detriment, but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different than the millenial-old forces of suppression of women.
“yes, men get stereotyped in various ways to their detriment, but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different than the millenial-old forces of suppression of women.”
Millenial old? You mean it has been going on forever?
” but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different ”
Sure it is different. How does that affect the issue raised though? These ads indicate a pervasive and detrimental sexism in the portrayal of men. Like they do for women. But their status as issues are unequal – that was my point.
As for which is the more damaging, sexism against men or against women, well that is a very good question. I suspect we cannot see the wood for the trees on that issue actually.
Here is another question mr weka – how exactly is this ad sexist, relative to today’s standards in the advertising world? What singles it out? What makes it so different from so many other countless advertisements that use sex to sell (by both sexes)?
“Millenial old? You mean it has been going on forever?”
No, I mean it’s been going on for 5,000 years.
” These ads indicate a pervasive and detrimental sexism in the portrayal of men”
Which ads? Do you mean the one you linked to? Or the ones that you still haven’t linked to that show an equal degree of sexism against men?
“As for which is the more damaging, sexism against men or against women, well that is a very good question. I suspect we cannot see the wood for the trees on that issue actually.”
Maybe for you. For me and many other people, of all genders, it is very obvious.
“Here is another question mr weka – how exactly is this ad sexist, relative to today’s standards in the advertising world? What singles it out? What makes it so different from so many other countless advertisements that use sex to sell (by both sexes)?”
Interesting questions with interesting answers but sorry mrs vto, it’s Friday night after a long week and I don’t feel like doing anyone’s homework. We might get lucky and someone posts a link to sexism 101. However I am reluctant to provide information for you while I am still waiting for examples of the ads you were talking about. Fairs fair.
You know, people, that our visit to you was not a failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted,
in Phillipi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong
opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to
trick you. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little
children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God,
but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. For you know that we dealt with each of
you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, urging you.We sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage you in your “faith” so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You
know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out this way, as you well know.
(this was on a sign-post as I entered Thessalonica).
“At the present moment we are confronted by a choice: either a mass “civilization”, technological and
“conformist”-the Brave New World (not!) of Huxley, hell organised upon earth for the bodily comfort
of everybody-or a different Civilization, which we cannot yet describe because we do not know what it will be; it still has to be created, consciously by people. If we do not know what to choose, or in other
words, how to “make a revolution”, if we let ourselves drift along in the stream of history, without
knowing it, we shall have chosen the power of suicide, which is at the heart of the world.”
(Presence,31) and that concludes Chapter 3
While Ellul was writing his masterpiece he, also, enjoyed the Brandenburg Concertos which is a more
uplifting concert than Jim Mora chasing his tail with “How Much is That Doggie in The Window……..
the one with the rageddy tail, how much is that doggie in the window, I do hope that doggy’s for Sale”
Robin Duff in commenting on that silly piece by Langely on the 28 November, points out that in the days of School Cert 50% of all students failed. Now we are told that only 20% fail. If you believe the constant 20% “fail” call from politicians, then the system must be doing better and better. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10850846
Is being a shareholder a privilege or a right? After hearing that citizenship is a privilege not a right I was just wondering if the national socialism edict applied also to property.
Privilege, rights, blah blah. There are no such things. There is only an ability, which may be fleeting or long-lasting. People have an ability to be shareholders. People have an ability to become citizens. Some of these things may be considered a privilege afforded to only them and in many ways that is true. But there aint no rights, except those where there is an ability under law or norm, and that qualification would seem to render a right not a right, in the wider existence sense. Make sense?
As for property – sheesh, good luck. It seems to be not a matter of any such thing but solely a matter of what you can get away with, especially under Key. 2c
Yeah, just like the SCF investors lost everything… Oh, wait
Oh, I know, The Pike River shareholders… No, they didn’t lose everything either – the miners did.
Yes, I’m sure that if we look really hard we will find some shareholders somewhere, some when that have, as a matter of fact, lost everything. I think we’ll find it far less often than the workers losing everything.
The little shareholders lose everything.
The director shareholders and “preferred” (read:”already rich”) customers of financial advisors don’t lose.
I recall a tv documentary about a glasses factory that was on the edge – a new CEO came in, changed it to sunglasses, encouraged workers to invest their pensions in share options, and lost it all. It then turned out that he had been paying himself £30,000p.a. more than the other two shareholder/directors (who were already doing okay). People lost their retirement savings, and he was saying “at least we gave it a go”. Fuckwit. And he was small-time compared to most of the plutocrats.
Hey, how ya doin, sorry i couldn’t get through, just leave your name…and your number…and I’ll get
Back to You.
I find the discussions on TS the last couple of days very interesting, and sure am glad that I never keep
copies of the comments the fat cats claw me to write. We’re not gonna be Orphans anymore, We’re not
gonna take it anymore, more, more…
some may argue that shareholders who do not work on their holdings are failing in their duty to themselves, i.e. due diligence.
I would say that share owning is a privilege, just as companies have a duty not to harm their good will when taking decisions that create pollution, destroy communities and degrade the planet. In fact most companies could be said to be brats since they support an economy that needs five planets to support.
As for citizenship, how can that be a privileged? most are born into it, sure some reject the privileged and change citizenship (unless their current nationality allows for dual citizenships), then maybe they have a privilege???
Sand mining is going to be trialed in NZ, with the impacts not as yet known. Tomorrow, a surfer will finish a protest paddle from Taranaki to Piha.
Surfer Dave Rastovich is used to paddling into the waves, but tomorrow he’ll finish an epic 350km paddle from Taranaki to Piha.
The New Zealand born Australian set out from Taranaki on a paddle-board on November 16 in protest against sand mining on the West Coast.
The 35-year-old will be welcomed at the West Auckland beach from 11am by former Waitakere mayor and activist Bob Harvey and local surfers….
Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and global organisation Surfers for Cetaceans, which Rastovich co-founded, have joined forces for the campaign. Sustainable Coastlines and Greenpeace have also offered their support.
“All would be threatened if the sand flow is interrupted and a coastline littered with flawless waves could be irretrievably altered,” Rastovich said.
Gotta admire the guy’s stamina. It seems NZ is being used as an international test ground for sand mining.
Ironsand from the Waikato North Head is used for steel-making at BHP New Zealand Steel’s Glenbrook mill, which uses about 1.2 Mt of concentrate per year. About 1.4 Mt per year of titanomagnetite concentrate from Taharoa is exported.
We’ve been mining the sands in NZ for decades.
And, no, I’m not supportive of what’s being proposed.
Thanks, DTB and joe. So the problem is the large scale of seabed mining that’s being proposed now? Plus the fact that they are looking to extract a range of different minerals than have previously been extracted?
It’s the range and extent without any consideration for what damage it will do. Throw in the fact that it’s typical unsustainable dig it, mine, sell it BS that we don’t seem to be able to get away from under capitalism.
So on one hand you don’t want to go ahead with underseas mining to any great extent yet on the other you want NZ to be totally self-sufficient and make all it’s own TV’s, Computers, vehicles etc etc.
as I cycled in and leant over Mill (eee, by gum) I lobbed a fellow tradesman half a round of shrapnel
to complete his purchase; The young men serving (Elderly Woman Behind The Counter in A Small
Town?) exclaimed! “you don’t see many Good Samaritans these days” (can’t escape those biblical
foundations, I’m just learning about the sociology of Law as we speak) and I engaged them over
“current events” (intimating my modest comprehension of them). Their Replies, Unanimous,
“The world is disintegrating”, well I chose not to weld any defence against those conclusions.
When will the pseudo-Tory Neoliberal Nightmare Mongers accept that they are on a ………………….
Hiding to Nothing? Freakin “bad faith” parasites.
Man, now the children at the feet are getting it…
On a different, more reassuring note, at the “couch” this morning, Two, not just one, but Two very
learned consultants reassured me that everything I have concluded about our society’s disease over
the passing of this year is valid; It is not us, the people who Post and comment on The Standard
who are “mad”;
If you are a right-wing greedy capitalist snooping on the wisdom of socialist commentators…
grab a Hand Mirror, it is You who are Ideologically Impure fools.
Its not “hatred of the poor”, its recognizing that some people aren’t fit to be parents. Its a charity set up to stop some people from making make mistakes.
Shame on you if you can’t (don’t want to) see that
Why do we need it in NZ?
What is the extent of addiction-related harm against children in NZ?
Would greater protection be made if such funds were diverted towards education, antenatal care, housing, or benefit levels?
This is an ill-considered policy that believes the best way of protecting poor children is to eradicate them using rich-person’s privilege. It therefore suggests to me that eugenics is a real risk. You might not think that, but that’s exactly the reason it is a risk.
Its not policy, its a private charity. Its not about protecting children its making sure people don’t have the children in the first place.
Considering the person on the clip actually went out and adopted 4 “crack babies” it says to me she wants to help these people rather then mouth platitudes
Just the ethical issues of abusing people’s needs to make decisions for them about what they do with their bodies, the benefits of sterilization as opposed to addressing the problems of drug addiction, the apparent obliviousness to risks of that policy (implemented by private charity or not) sliding into old-school eugenics, and most of all I doubt whether we “need” such a programme here.
Feel free to provide actual evidence for the extent of the problem in NZ and why this solution” is appropriate for that problem if it exists here. You know, just something to demonstrate that tories don’t just want it because it’s American, therefore bright, shiny and wonderful.
It’s not about a me supporting a centre left or left government, it’s about the left halting internal bickering and focusing on what the real problem is. Without the left focusing on National’s destructive agenda, there won’t be a centre left or left government to choose from. In other words, you won’t get a left government by undermining the centre left… It’s as simple as that.
I disagree but it’s an interesting point. How many people are feeling like we can’t afford another centre-left govt and we may as well go for what we really want at this time? Or are people feeling like we cannot afford another 3 years of NACT, so better to support a centre left govt if that’s the only viable option?
we can’t afford another centre-left govt and we may as well go for what we really want at this time
^^ this.
And the option that says if you fundamentally disagree with the party bureaucracy (not the party principles) you have a right to express dissent. We’re not Nact after all.
The time of half measures is almost at an end. You can’t kick the can further down the road if you are just about out of road.
My prediction: by the time the 2014 elections roll around, peak debt, peak oil, peak unemployment will be breaking upon the world. New Zealanders will be coming back from Australia by the thousands.
If we aren’t careful what we will presented with after the election is back-breaking knee-capping austerity (from National) or grinding, gut wrenching, nail pulling austerity (from Labour).
The period from 2014-2017 is not one to be wished on any government, good luck to whoever is in power then.
Weka: I totally agree with what Jackal writes. It is not that he is commenting on the rights or wrongs of the leadership or the Leftness or not. He is condemning the nit-picking, mean-spirited suicidal behaviour of the so called “supporters of the Left.”
It seems to me there is far more energy being spent on attacking the Labour leadership, than on the pressing duplicity of the so-called “Right.”
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Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
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Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
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News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
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Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
How the ‘rebranding’ of NZ as Middle Earth is obscuring our history:
http://www.readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/from-peria-to-hobbiton.html
You know people inside of government are involved in the drug industry when….
Thinking back, Muldoon was cozy with the gangs, reckon they must have just been talking about “current affairs”
From PPTA website
So what Langstone is saying is that Novopay could cope with 90000 individual contracts.
BIZARE
http://www.ppta.org.nz/index.php/resources/media/2504-media-novopay-scapegoat
Attempts by Lesley Longstone to pin problems in the payroll system – also known by teachers as Novopain, No-pay and Novovirus – on the collective agreement smacked of desperation, particularly since it was the teachers on the agreement who were having the least problems with their pay, he said.
The secretary is looking to blame the collective agreement rather than face the fact it was blatant cost-cutting that led to the mess the payroll system is in.”
.
Christchurch is heading directly for Stalingradesque stature
VTO – Ch Ch will not be rebuilt, not the way it should be at least, the reasons why in my opinion are that its about the mining,/drilling, and Antarctica.
Agendas have a whole different set of plans for Chch, because if there was an apetite to rebuild it for the locals, and benefit of NZ, it would we well underway by now…
This is see through even by NZ abysmal record of being run on corruption!
The government is running out of money.
GST refunds have been later than usual and without explanation. Government is well behind in its payments for the Chch Stalingrad makeover. Teachers are being underpaid for weeks.
Is there reality to this reality?
Artificially low interest through LIBOR scams and $112 billion in Derivatives on our books may have something to do with it
What Really Happened in Gaza
by NORMAN FINKELSTEIN
November 29, 2009
The official storyline is that Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense on 14 November, 2012 because, in President Barack Obama’s words, it had “every right to defend itself.”
In this instance, Israel was allegedly defending itself against the 800 projectile attacks emanating from Gaza since January of this past year.
The facts, however, suggest otherwise.
From the start of the new year, one Israeli had been killed as a result of the Gazan attacks, while 78 Gazans had been killed by Israeli strikes. The ruling power in Gaza, Hamas, was mostly committed to preventing attacks. Indeed, Ahmed al-Jaabari, the Hamas leader whose assassination by Israel triggered the current round of fighting, was regarded by Israel as the chief enforcer of the periodic ceasefires, and….
Read more….
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/11/29/what-really-happened-in-gaza/
Lifted from a comment to a piece on another site concerning Spanish President Mariano Rajoy Brey’s double-cross of the Spanish people (pursuading them to convert their savings deposits in Spanish Banks into ‘preference’ shares in a failed attempt to save the banks from bankruptcy they are now facing a 39% ‘haircut’ just to earn a bail-out loan to the banks from the EEC), this seemed to me a perfect summary of John Key and his acolytes:
“He hails from what Ljubiša Mitrović calls the “comprador bourgeoisie.”
Comprador bourgeoisie is the upper layer of the bourgeois class…. It is not national in character and is socially irresponsible. It is a blind servant of foreign capital, ruthless in the exploitation of the domestic workforce and dictatorial in relation to its fellow countrymen. Its homeland is where its interests are. It is the agent of the megacapital in the function of global economy. It is a “Trojan horse” of the foreign TNCs [Transnational Corporations]… Its god is the god Mammon, the capital. Its aim is to amass capital, and it puts profit above individuals. It is a predatory class of the nouveau riche and often bon vivant and parasitic upstarts. It is a peculiar jet-set of bandit economy…..
If they wish not to be discarded by the citizens and most of the nation, political parties and elites would have to stop deceiving the citizens and articulate their real interests in the struggle for social change.
Ljubiša Mitrović, “THE NEW BOURGEOISIE AND ITS PSEUDO-ELITE IN THE SOCIETIES OF PERIPHERAL CAPITALISM”
http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/pas/pas2010/pas2010-01.pdf“
I just love how sexism issues always run in just one gender direction in this country. At least it is consistent in its inconsistency.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/8017140/Law-school-magazine-blasted-for-sexist-ad
Well I guess when sexism itself stops being a predominantly one way flow against women, others might love whatever it is you are loving too.
btw, the example you give is such glaring example of sexism, and the ground we have lost in recent years, that I’m really at a loss to know why you used it. How about you provide a similarly garing example of sexism running the other way?
all of the ads that show men as lard arses with fat bellies, unshaven, sloppy and slobbery, lazing on the couch while the women go out and do the right stuff.
There are countless of them. It is a well acknowledged phenomenon.
The fact that male complaints don’t run to the level of female complaints about the same issue speaks to perhaps the very nature of men vs women more than to the actual sexism on display.
But in this region on which i opine the current general society-wide opinion (which you reflect imo) I would suggest reflects a 50s charm in reverse. In the 50s, such a response as your own mr weka, was the norm and the issue considered well overblown and lacking in reality.
It is like looking through a mirror
You mean those ones where the guy is portrayed is being very smart in manipulating women to run around after them?
I can’t picture one of them. Which one are you thinking?
This is the nearest ad to the one of was thinking of – that I could find quickly. Based on sexist stereotypes with women’s bodies there to be looked at, while the guys are in control (no matter how slobby they are), and are smart-a*ses.
The one I was thinking of has a guy on a couch phoning a woman in another room to change the TV channel for him.
I like Ad’s, they remind me what NOT to buy.
Yep. Sorry, dudes, but an eternity of being portrayed as mere objects for male consumption ain’t actually equivalent to a cultural meme which absolves all men from being competent, compassionate, or active participants in a relationship. Oh noes, it makes men look bad – where “looks bad” = “provides an excuse to be completely self-centred”.
“There are countless of them. It is a well acknowledged phenomenon.”
I don’t know those, please link to some examples. Make sure they are ones that show a similar level of sexism as the law student example.
“The fact that male complaints don’t run to the level of female complaints about the same issue speaks to perhaps the very nature of men vs women more than to the actual sexism on display.”
Nope, that demonstrates that institutionalised and culturally sanctioned sexism against women is far more prevalent, difficult to combat, and damaging.
yes, men get stereotyped in various ways to their detriment, but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different than the millenial-old forces of suppression of women.
“yes, men get stereotyped in various ways to their detriment, but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different than the millenial-old forces of suppression of women.”
Millenial old? You mean it has been going on forever?
” but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different ”
Sure it is different. How does that affect the issue raised though? These ads indicate a pervasive and detrimental sexism in the portrayal of men. Like they do for women. But their status as issues are unequal – that was my point.
As for which is the more damaging, sexism against men or against women, well that is a very good question. I suspect we cannot see the wood for the trees on that issue actually.
Here is another question mr weka – how exactly is this ad sexist, relative to today’s standards in the advertising world? What singles it out? What makes it so different from so many other countless advertisements that use sex to sell (by both sexes)?
“Millenial old? You mean it has been going on forever?”
No, I mean it’s been going on for 5,000 years.
” These ads indicate a pervasive and detrimental sexism in the portrayal of men”
Which ads? Do you mean the one you linked to? Or the ones that you still haven’t linked to that show an equal degree of sexism against men?
“As for which is the more damaging, sexism against men or against women, well that is a very good question. I suspect we cannot see the wood for the trees on that issue actually.”
Maybe for you. For me and many other people, of all genders, it is very obvious.
“Here is another question mr weka – how exactly is this ad sexist, relative to today’s standards in the advertising world? What singles it out? What makes it so different from so many other countless advertisements that use sex to sell (by both sexes)?”
Interesting questions with interesting answers but sorry mrs vto, it’s Friday night after a long week and I don’t feel like doing anyone’s homework. We might get lucky and someone posts a link to sexism 101. However I am reluctant to provide information for you while I am still waiting for examples of the ads you were talking about. Fairs fair.
You know, people, that our visit to you was not a failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted,
in Phillipi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong
opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to
trick you. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little
children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God,
but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. For you know that we dealt with each of
you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, urging you.We sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage you in your “faith” so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You
know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out this way, as you well know.
(this was on a sign-post as I entered Thessalonica).
“At the present moment we are confronted by a choice: either a mass “civilization”, technological and
“conformist”-the Brave New World (not!) of Huxley, hell organised upon earth for the bodily comfort
of everybody-or a different Civilization, which we cannot yet describe because we do not know what it will be; it still has to be created, consciously by people. If we do not know what to choose, or in other
words, how to “make a revolution”, if we let ourselves drift along in the stream of history, without
knowing it, we shall have chosen the power of suicide, which is at the heart of the world.”
(Presence,31) and that concludes Chapter 3
While Ellul was writing his masterpiece he, also, enjoyed the Brandenburg Concertos which is a more
uplifting concert than Jim Mora chasing his tail with “How Much is That Doggie in The Window……..
the one with the rageddy tail, how much is that doggie in the window, I do hope that doggy’s for Sale”
Robin Duff in commenting on that silly piece by Langely on the 28 November, points out that in the days of School Cert 50% of all students failed. Now we are told that only 20% fail. If you believe the constant 20% “fail” call from politicians, then the system must be doing better and better.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10850846
Loud applause as President Abbas addresses the U.N.
It’s in the bag….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifnMN3yhdrk&feature=player_embedded
Is being a shareholder a privilege or a right? After hearing that citizenship is a privilege not a right I was just wondering if the national socialism edict applied also to property.
Privilege, rights, blah blah. There are no such things. There is only an ability, which may be fleeting or long-lasting. People have an ability to be shareholders. People have an ability to become citizens. Some of these things may be considered a privilege afforded to only them and in many ways that is true. But there aint no rights, except those where there is an ability under law or norm, and that qualification would seem to render a right not a right, in the wider existence sense. Make sense?
As for property – sheesh, good luck. It seems to be not a matter of any such thing but solely a matter of what you can get away with, especially under Key. 2c
It’s an injustice as the shareholders benefit from the work of others without having to work themselves.
Some shareholders do not benefit and in fact lose it all.
Yeah, just like the SCF investors lost everything… Oh, wait
Oh, I know, The Pike River shareholders… No, they didn’t lose everything either – the miners did.
Yes, I’m sure that if we look really hard we will find some shareholders somewhere, some when that have, as a matter of fact, lost everything. I think we’ll find it far less often than the workers losing everything.
I have lost money in shares before – it happens all the time to people.
P.S. I am a worker and a shareholder – it isn’t one or the other.
Not quite, DTB.
The little shareholders lose everything.
The director shareholders and “preferred” (read:”already rich”) customers of financial advisors don’t lose.
I recall a tv documentary about a glasses factory that was on the edge – a new CEO came in, changed it to sunglasses, encouraged workers to invest their pensions in share options, and lost it all. It then turned out that he had been paying himself £30,000p.a. more than the other two shareholder/directors (who were already doing okay). People lost their retirement savings, and he was saying “at least we gave it a go”. Fuckwit. And he was small-time compared to most of the plutocrats.
Oscar and Lucinda-Peter Carey
nah I think this is the one. Spectacles, not tumblers 🙂
Hey, how ya doin, sorry i couldn’t get through, just leave your name…and your number…and I’ll get
Back to You.
I find the discussions on TS the last couple of days very interesting, and sure am glad that I never keep
copies of the comments the fat cats claw me to write. We’re not gonna be Orphans anymore, We’re not
gonna take it anymore, more, more…
-Twisted! 🙂 Sisters
some may argue that shareholders who do not work on their holdings are failing in their duty to themselves, i.e. due diligence.
I would say that share owning is a privilege, just as companies have a duty not to harm their good will when taking decisions that create pollution, destroy communities and degrade the planet. In fact most companies could be said to be brats since they support an economy that needs five planets to support.
As for citizenship, how can that be a privileged? most are born into it, sure some reject the privileged and change citizenship (unless their current nationality allows for dual citizenships), then maybe they have a privilege???
Sand mining is going to be trialed in NZ, with the impacts not as yet known. Tomorrow, a surfer will finish a protest paddle from Taranaki to Piha.
Gotta admire the guy’s stamina. It seems NZ is being used as an international test ground for sand mining.
http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/iron/au/nz/p0005.htm
We’ve been mining the sands in NZ for decades.
And, no, I’m not supportive of what’s being proposed.
More details about the proposals and likely impacts of sea bed mining.
http://kasm.org.nz/
Thanks, DTB and joe. So the problem is the large scale of seabed mining that’s being proposed now? Plus the fact that they are looking to extract a range of different minerals than have previously been extracted?
It’s the range and extent without any consideration for what damage it will do. Throw in the fact that it’s typical unsustainable dig it, mine, sell it BS that we don’t seem to be able to get away from under capitalism.
So on one hand you don’t want to go ahead with underseas mining to any great extent yet on the other you want NZ to be totally self-sufficient and make all it’s own TV’s, Computers, vehicles etc etc.
Can’t have one without the other Draco my’man
New TV’s, smart phones and other misc. shit aren’t going to be that important in future, to quality of life.
They aren’t important now, other than that people have been spun into beleiving they are..
You know, toys, games and entertainment, while the important people get on with the scheming!
as I cycled in and leant over Mill (eee, by gum) I lobbed a fellow tradesman half a round of shrapnel
to complete his purchase; The young men serving (Elderly Woman Behind The Counter in A Small
Town?) exclaimed! “you don’t see many Good Samaritans these days” (can’t escape those biblical
foundations, I’m just learning about the sociology of Law as we speak) and I engaged them over
“current events” (intimating my modest comprehension of them). Their Replies, Unanimous,
“The world is disintegrating”, well I chose not to weld any defence against those conclusions.
When will the pseudo-Tory Neoliberal Nightmare Mongers accept that they are on a ………………….
Hiding to Nothing? Freakin “bad faith” parasites.
Man, now the children at the feet are getting it…
On a different, more reassuring note, at the “couch” this morning, Two, not just one, but Two very
learned consultants reassured me that everything I have concluded about our society’s disease over
the passing of this year is valid; It is not us, the people who Post and comment on The Standard
who are “mad”;
If you are a right-wing greedy capitalist snooping on the wisdom of socialist commentators…
grab a Hand Mirror, it is You who are Ideologically Impure fools.
btw, how those A zaleas smelling down South?
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/11/a-charity-steps-in-where-a-government-cant/
We need this here
synopsis? because every single time I’ve followed a link to wo, it’s been a fucking waste.
http://www.projectprevention.org/
Why pay poor people not to breed, rather than simply paying them to get addiction treatment/be drug free?
And yes, it is aimed at poor people because money is only an “incentive” if you don’t have enough of it.
Why pay poor people not to breed, rather than simply paying them to get addiction treatment/be drug free?
– Addiction treatments take longer, don’t always work and are more expensive whereas sterilization is quick, simple (for the guys) and reversible
You’re missing the point. Even if sterilization were 100% effective.
This will not prevent drug-affected babies (and I’d love to know what the prevalence of drug-affected babies is in NZ – why do “we need this here”?).
Attack the cause, not the symptom. The cause is a failed drug policy.
But that would involve considering a public health issue rationally, rather than just succumbing to the regular tory hatred of the poor.
Its not “hatred of the poor”, its recognizing that some people aren’t fit to be parents. Its a charity set up to stop some people from making make mistakes.
Shame on you if you can’t (don’t want to) see that
There is absolutely no way I could ever support such a program.
http://www.projectprevention.org/destiny/
This is another opinion you might consider
Why do we need it in NZ?
What is the extent of addiction-related harm against children in NZ?
Would greater protection be made if such funds were diverted towards education, antenatal care, housing, or benefit levels?
This is an ill-considered policy that believes the best way of protecting poor children is to eradicate them using rich-person’s privilege. It therefore suggests to me that eugenics is a real risk. You might not think that, but that’s exactly the reason it is a risk.
Its not policy, its a private charity. Its not about protecting children its making sure people don’t have the children in the first place.
Considering the person on the clip actually went out and adopted 4 “crack babies” it says to me she wants to help these people rather then mouth platitudes
I wasn’t doubting her commitment.
Just the ethical issues of abusing people’s needs to make decisions for them about what they do with their bodies, the benefits of sterilization as opposed to addressing the problems of drug addiction, the apparent obliviousness to risks of that policy (implemented by private charity or not) sliding into old-school eugenics, and most of all I doubt whether we “need” such a programme here.
Feel free to provide actual evidence for the extent of the problem in NZ and why this solution” is appropriate for that problem if it exists here. You know, just something to demonstrate that tories don’t just want it because it’s American, therefore bright, shiny and wonderful.
Barbara Harris and crack.
Jackal said this in another thread –
I disagree but it’s an interesting point. How many people are feeling like we can’t afford another centre-left govt and we may as well go for what we really want at this time? Or are people feeling like we cannot afford another 3 years of NACT, so better to support a centre left govt if that’s the only viable option?
we can’t afford another centre-left govt and we may as well go for what we really want at this time
^^ this.
And the option that says if you fundamentally disagree with the party bureaucracy (not the party principles) you have a right to express dissent. We’re not Nact after all.
The time of half measures is almost at an end. You can’t kick the can further down the road if you are just about out of road.
My prediction: by the time the 2014 elections roll around, peak debt, peak oil, peak unemployment will be breaking upon the world. New Zealanders will be coming back from Australia by the thousands.
If we aren’t careful what we will presented with after the election is back-breaking knee-capping austerity (from National) or grinding, gut wrenching, nail pulling austerity (from Labour).
The period from 2014-2017 is not one to be wished on any government, good luck to whoever is in power then.
Weka: I totally agree with what Jackal writes. It is not that he is commenting on the rights or wrongs of the leadership or the Leftness or not. He is condemning the nit-picking, mean-spirited suicidal behaviour of the so called “supporters of the Left.”
It seems to me there is far more energy being spent on attacking the Labour leadership, than on the pressing duplicity of the so-called “Right.”
No more Santa parades!
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/communist-style-austerity-forced-on.html